Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 29, and Sam Taylor-Johnson, 52, were never bothered by their 23-year age gap.

“I knew instantly with Sam that I’d found my soulmate,” Aaron recently told The Telegraph of meeting Sam on the set of the 2008 film Nowhere Boy.

“I knew instantly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this person. I remember it very well, and a year to the day (after) I met her I proposed. I knew I wanted a family with her, I knew I wanted kids, and a month later she was pregnant with our first child.”

They’ve been together for 10 years now. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Aaron suspects their age difference never bothered him because his acting career thrust him into adulthood at an early age.

“I worked in an adult environment from an early age; I had open, direct conversations with directors, producers, actors, where my opinions would be valued and matter,” he said. “I grew up pretty quickly — I left school at 15. I had a totally different upbringing from my kids.”

He continued, “When I met Sam I’d already lived a life far beyond that of most of my contemporaries — I didn’t relate to anyone my age. I just feel that we’re on the same wavelength.”

And while some seem to disapprove of their unconventional relationship, Aaron and Sam choose to ignore their critics.

“All that is my personal life, it’s sacred to me and it’s beautiful. But there is a lot of negativity around from other people,” Aaron said. “That’s their problem and their issues and however they perceive life. I live my life to its fullest, and I operate from my instincts and from my heart, and I try to be as open as possible.”

Sam agrees with her husband, who she refers to as an old soul.

“I can’t dwell on what other people think or say,” Sam told the newspaper. “With Aaron it just literally felt like we were so connected, straight away. I didn’t know what it was then — we were connected when we were working and it was professional, and that connection grew more powerful as time went on and never diminished.”

She added, “And it’s the same today as it was then.”

Aaron and Sam share two daughters, Wylda Rae, 9, and Romy Hero, 7. Sam also has two daughters, Angelica, 22, and Jessie, 13, with her ex-husband Jay Jopling. Together, Aaron and Sam live with all four children in their Hollywood Hills home.

“I’m so lucky to have such a supportive husband,” Sam said. “When he works, I don’t, and vice versa.”

Aaron added, “I really enjoy it. There’s nothing more empowering than supporting my wife in her passions and ambitions; I’ve never felt more — what’s the opposite of emasculated? Empowered.”

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission